Walk 10: Seneca Creek's Schaeffer Farm

Well, I didn't much care for the walk at the lake in  Seneca Creek State Park (see Walk 10), but the Schaeffer Farm section of the park more than makes up for it.

A carpet of ferns along the White Trail.

The Schaeffer Farm trails have no names other than a color and we picked the White Trail, a four mile loop that skirts around an abandoned farm. The other trails include, green, yellow, red and blue. All the trails link up one way or another so there are miles of variations involved.

We parked at the Black Rock Mill on Seneca creek and crossed the one-lane bridge to the foot of the bluffs on the other side. There are two ways up the bluff from here. The first is an informal trail that heads more of less straight up and your heart will be pounding when you reach the top.

Black Rock Mill ground wheat into flour for most of the 1800s. After that, wheat production in the country headed west and mill went bust.

The second is the Seneca Ridge Trail, marked with red blazes, that switch backs to the top. Either way, the short, sharp climb means most walkers pass up these woods, which is a mistake.


Once on top of the bluff, the White Trail loops around both abandoned and working farm fields with occasional sections out in the sun. With August temperatures already here in May, this was a one hot walk.

Black Rock Mill back around 1900.

We stopped at the one stream that cuts through the bluffs to give Loki a cool down which he much appreciated. 

While the trails are clearly marked, there is not much information about them available and we passed near a property called Button Farm. When we walked down the lane to it, I couldn't really tell if it was a working farm or an abandoned one and not wishing to trespass, we took a photo and left.

This is how the county looked before urbanization took up much of the farms.

For the first time on our walks, we also passed by a signature plant for the area which are the huge vines that strangle the hardwoods. These vines wouldn't look out of place in the Amazon and you can climb them if the branches they are attached to can bear the weight. The downside is if they can't, the branch comes straight down which can be a problem.

Tarzan would be proud of our vines.

While the trail keeps to the cooler woods, which was much appreciated, we did see an abandoned hay field that is slowly turning back into woods. Several smaller trees such as Sycamores are already colonizing the field. Actually, I've heard that aerial surveys show that is happening all  up and down the East Coast as the small family farms go out of business. The amount of forest cover we have is up sharply from what was left in 1900.

In another hundred years, this will all  be forest once again.

Just before we hit Seneca Creek, Loki decided he had had about as much of the heat as he was going to take and found what has to be the deepest mud wallow I've seen in a long time.

Up to his chest in ripe smelling swamp mud. The next stop for Loki was a dip in Seneca Creek to wash off.


Practical information: Take Darnestown road towards Frederick and turn right on Black Rock Road. You can park by Black Rock Mill or on the side of the road across the one lane bridge. Pick up Seneca Ridge trail and climb the bluff. The White Trail is about 4 miles and is hilly. After wet weather, expect mud. Trail rating is 3 out of 3 stars. Never crowded.